1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mine tunnel supports and more specifically to methods of moving a face support comprising a plurality of powered support units.
2. Description of the Related Art
Face supports are well known to support long wall coal cutters during mining operations. The conventional manner for moving a face support comprises moving each of the individual powered support units independently and sequentially. For example, initially the first powered support unit is moved and subsequently the second, the third and so forth are moved until the end of the face support. The speed that is obtained in moving up the face support is thus less than the speed of the long wall coal cutter so that the long wall coal cutter must wait for the support. Thus, the long wall coal cutter cannot be employed in its full capacity for cutting out the coal. Such conventional systems are shown in German Pat. Nos. 22 12 686, 22 29 154, 31 10 854 and 31 11 875 and German Published Patent Nos. 27 00 798.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to develop a method for moving a face support of the aforementioned type in such a manner that the long wall coal cutter can unfold its full capacity.
It is another object of the present invention to accomplish this movement in a safe manner.
It is a further object of the present invention to accomplish this movement while retaining the supporting forces of the support.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the drawings and specification which follow.